Total Happiness - 5 of 5 - The Activity of Teaching

The activity of fostering extraordinary happiness in others, I called teaching.

Just by the fact that you do this practice, you are already a teacher in my very broad formulation.

Because I distinguish 3 levels of teaching.

The first level of teaching I call subtle teaching as the result of doing this practice. We change, particularly People who have known us notice it. But as it gets stronger and stronger as the months years and decades go on.

Everybody notices it if only at some suttles subliminal level just where you're coming from has this impact on People.

That's a huge servant to the world.

So everyone that practices from absolute beginner to the master who can look at you and put you in a trance.

Teaches at the subtle level, then the next level of teaching I called the explanatory level.

Somebody asks you a question.

About what you do and you can give a

Coherent description of what you do Sunday did Kodomo that means that the Dharma is crystal clear.

Somebody hearing a clear description.

A model.

Of this practice may think.

That sounds desirable, even if you're not trying to

Convince them that is designed.

Just you being able in words to coherently describe what you do I call that the descriptive level of teaching.

Explicit level of teaching you're saying. Hey, I'm going to teach you techniques. I'm going to teach you concepts. I'm going to show you how to apply this in your life in specific if you have questions or you need encouragement come. See me and we're going to have a sequence of lessons or I'm going to be giving sitting group that you can join and you could talk to me about your practice, I'm running retreats.

Your explicitly now a teacher.

I like to distinguish within the explicit teachers.

Certain special sub categories of explicit teachers.

First there's the paraprofessional.

A number of you are paraprofessionals.

At a retreat you can do all the explicit teaching that I just mentioned and put out your name to be a facilitator so that would be at a pair of profession professional means you're a full time.

You live perhaps by.

Arms.

Dama In other words, Christian term is arms.

Or you have a different fee structure but you you're a professional this what you do.

There's a certain subclass of professionals.

That.

Are capable of confidently and competent Lee?

Dealing with the issue of classical in alignment.

Particularly can deal with that issue if a person happens to have a sudden enlightenment experience. We have to know what to say in those cases.

Not every professional teacher can or for that matter.

Is required to be able to deal with that issue?

At least not in the be possible tradition.

Then maybe a little different story.

There is a watershed between teachers that can lead you to enlightenment.

By teaching and teachers that can really deal with the issue of what happens if somebody does get enlightenment.

That's

That's a whole other from my perspective, that's a special skill.

Also to deal with what very occasionally happens doesn't happen often, it's only happened a few times in my many decades career, but there can sometimes be a thing where People get.

A sort of enlightenment experience that has a mixture of.

Pathology with it.

It's straddles enlightenment at a condition called DPDRD realization, depersonalization disorder.

This.

Special class of teachers can deal with that issue too. If it should come up so let's just call the Masters for now.

For lack of any.

Other term.

Among Masters.

There is a very, very, very special class of Master.

That's a good time.

Because it was asked what's the difference between A and on our hot rods fully aligned fully purified that what makes a certain are hot?

And.

The answer is.

Where there was no path?

He discovered a path and made it available to the world.

That's the traditional formulation and I'd modify that a little bit.

I would say.

A single put.

Is a master?

Who discovers something new an important about enlightenment as a result of that?

There is widespread and profound.

Positive change in the direction of human history.

Not just change the course of a few lives in a good way.

So that's a bit. I'm not at all sure that the next but will be one person.

The next put there may be a team.

A team of enlightened scientists.

For example,

If we think of Buddha's meaning discovered something that has not been known in the past and that is deep enough and powerful enough to change the course of human history that might turn out to be a team effort.

Might who can say.

This thing gives us a map of total happiness. This is where we started.

Ordinary.

Happiness for yourself.

Then we talked about.

Extraordinary happiness.

For yourself.

Then we talked about.

All these lead to service to others.

Ordinary happiness for others.

An extraordinary happiness for others.

Under extraordinary happiness for others. I mentioned teaching there's one other category.

And that is supporting teaching.

That's done right, the dama that teacher Dhamma.

When you support teachers, you support their efforts to bring extraordinary happiness to others. So nothing gives us I don't know if you could see this from where you are, but.

This is

This is the details filled in.

So.

Now we know.

At least by.

One way of looking at things what mindful awareness is we know that it is cultivatable to any degree.

And.

We also now have an idea of a lot of very wonderful things that can result.

From mindful awareness things that mindful awareness fosters.

Looked upon under the simple concept of total happiness.